As Bronson Reed prepares to face Roman Reigns in a high-stakes Australian Street Fight at WWE Crown Jewel, he has drawn a comparison between his upcoming opponent and another “final boss” of the wrestling world: AEW’s Kazuchika Okada. In an interview on The Battleground podcast, Reed reflected on his own career-defining victory over Okada and likened the Japanese legend’s aura of invincibility to that of “The Tribal Chief,” Roman Reigns. His comments highlight the “final boss” status that both men have achieved in their respective promotions before Okada joined AEW.
“I made sure that I knew I was going to get to Japan, but I didn’t know that I was going to have the matches I was going to have, and then how everything worked, and I got to work with, obviously, Okada, who at the time was unbeatable in Japan… You could say he was the Roman Reigns of New Japan at the time, for sure, and to beat him in the G1 and do what I did, I think it put a lot of eyes back on me,” Reed said.
His victory over Okada in the 2022 G1 Climax tournament was a massive upset and a pivotal moment in his career, coming after his first release from WWE. “I remember when I did get released from NXT, I was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to go out there and prove myself again and make sure that they know they made the wrong decision,’” he stated.
The comparison between Reigns and Okada is an apt one. Both men have had historically dominant championship reigns. Okada is a five-time former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and holds the record for the longest reign in the title’s history at a staggering 720 days. Roman Reigns, of course, held the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship for an incredible 1,316 days.
Now, after conquering the “Roman Reigns of New Japan,” Bronson Reed will have the opportunity to defeat the real thing. He is set to face “The Tribal Chief” in an Australian Street Fight at the Crown Jewel premium live event in his home country of Australia.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Battleground podcast with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
